Aftershocks

Given the events of the last 24 hours it seemed inappropriate to have my weekly New Zealand post be about a jolly pelagic trip. The country is still reeling from Tuesday’s catastrophic earthquake in Christchurch which has killed at least 70 people and has levelled numerous buildings in the centre of the country’s second largest urban area. So strong was the earthquake that colleagues of mine on the seventh floor of my university building here in Wellington could feel it. It was actually less intense on the magnitude scale than the earthquake that struck the city last September, but because the focus was shallower it hit the city with more force.

You are never far away from reminders of the awesome forces geology can inflict on a whim in New Zealand. Only last Sunday a group of friends and I were making fun of new road markings near the coast showing the possible extent of tsunamis (although it was the rather random and seemingly physically impossible trajectory we were mocking). Looking back at the postings over the last few weeks of my trip up north for Christmas, one post was all about volcanoes, I mentioned earthquakes and faults in my post on Napier, and geothermal vents in the Corormandel. These forces tore New Zealand away from Antarctica over 60 million years ago, changing the fauna here forever, and also resulted in Karori being abandoned as a reservoir and turned into a sanctuary.

So, back to the birds next week. In the meantime, if you wish to help the people of Canterbury who’ve lost everything this week, the Salvation Army and the Red Cross have begun appeals for donations.

Duncan Wright is a Wellington-based ornithologist working on the evolution of New Zealand's birds. He's previously poked albatrosses with sticks in Hawaii, provided target practice for gulls in California, chased monkeys up and down hills Uganda, wrestled sharks in the Bahamas and played God with grasshopper genetics in Namibia. He came into studying birds rather later in life, and could quit any time he wants to.

My heart goes out to people suffering in New Zealand from this quake. Judging by the tragic devastation caused by it, I wondered if the epicenter might have been near the surface. The magnitude was similar to the 2009 Cinchona earthquake here in Costa Rica that wiped out a small town. The epicenter of that earthquake was also near the surface and it was pretty darn frightening to experience.

My sister lived in Christchurch for many years, and this is where I visited her in March/April 2002. I often walked from her house across the city centre to the Botanic Gardens, where I saw my first genuinely native NZ birds. She lived on Worcester Street just east of Latimer Square, and I went to “visit” Christchurch often since then on Google Street View, “walking” along the streets I remember so well.
Upon arrival in Christchurch I immediately noticed how beautiful the city is. And the poeple I met were all so outstandingly friendly and cheerful. I remember walking around downtown and by pure chance witnessed a few soldiers delivering their “oath of allegiance”. When I arrived, the band started to play, and of course it was some typical military style march. However, after what was 30 seconds or so into the piece, they suddently changed to a rock song (!!!) and everyone who stood around watching started to cheer and dance!! I have never seen anything like this in connection to such a “traditional, serious” matter, and it just showed how amazingly positive the mindset of the Kiwis there (and likely elsewhere in NZ) really is.

I have so many fond memories of Christchurch, and I am genuinely in shock about the catastrophy.

Duncan, likewise my thoughts have turned your way and to your beautiful country. As the death toll rises and the search for survivors loses the chances for success, I can only hope that relief efforts quickly come up to speed and no more devastation comes your way.

A reminder to all the readers that many agencies, including the Red Cross need donations so they can help the people in and around Christchurch.